Kicked around by the Israeli military
Aaron Lakoff Hebron, Palestine - February 1, 2005
To view the photos which accompany this story, visit http://gallery.cmaq.net/album31
In a country where fear is so ingrained in the culture and many are racked with the fright of being attacked at any
second, it's strange to see what can pass as a security threat.
I am a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). The ISM is a non-violent organization. All members of the
ISM must abide by its principles at all times. Therefore, as logic follows, I am a peaceful activist.
Many, if not most, of the Palestinians I've met are also peaceful activists. To be peaceful for them is one of many
choices, but to be an activist is not. When your lands are being erased, your children are being shot, and your very
identity is being denied, resistance becomes your only option. You must resist to exist.
So, on the morning of Tuesday, February 1st, when we were called to a demonstration in Khallet Al-Dar, just south of
Hebron, to protest land destruction for the building of a settler bypass road, I wasn't surprised to find a fervent
passion in the crowd.
A note on settlement roads – settlement roads connect settlements to one another and to Israel. Settlements are illegal
under international law. Many Israelis dismiss international law. Too many scoldings, too many headaches. Many of the
settlers think it's their god-given right to steal land from Palestinians and build fancy homes on it. Settlements are
for Jewish people only, and settler roads are for Israeli cars only. In South Africa, they would have called this
apartheid. In Alabama, the word was segregation. In Israel, they just call them settlements.
The road in question today was being built to connect the Israeli settlements of Kiryat Arba and Beit Hagai in the
Hebron area. It has already received much opposition from local Palestinians. So much so that the Israeli Supreme Court
made an injunction recently that the construction had to be halted for 21 days. Rather than wait for a legal ruling on
their already-illegal road, the Israeli authorities simply decided to move the path of the road about a kilometer and
start anew.
On Sunday, the Israeli Occupation Forces uprooted 300 trees on the road's path. Palestinians here say this kind of land
confiscation is shattering their peace – a peace that many are hoping for, the Western media is obsessing over, but
Palestine isn't seeing.
As the demonstration marched towards the hill where the road was being built, you could hear the crashing sound of the
demolition drill hard at work. Silhouettes of a few soldiers could be seen, watching the winding path of our march from
above.
Just before getting to the hill, I was overwhelmed as hundreds of young students who had just been let out of school
flooded into our march to join. They were excited, eager, and ready to go. It was clear they had done demonstrations
like this before.
It was almost frightening how much energy there was in this demonstration. People were chanting in Arabic as if their
lives depended on it. The chants in Hebrew were also refreshing and welcoming from the Anarchists Against the Wall. They
chanted "The occupation is terrorism!" and "Refuse soldier refuse!"
For about 30 minutes, there was a feeling of sheer victory in the air. We managed to force the demolition vehicles to
retreat a few hundred meters, and everyone was cheering madly. That was until the driver emerged from the cab of the
vehicle with a pistol and threatened to shoot at people. Luckily, he didn't.
Another amazing act of resistance took place when a prayer session was held directly in front of the soldiers. The
soldiers just looked on as if puzzled, not knowing what to do or who to point their guns at.
All of the sudden, the army decided it was time for everyone to leave, and our non-violence tactics were wearing them
thin. Three of us ISM activists were caught, trapped between a massive Caterpillar wrecking machine and the army.
I was grabbed, and immediately they started hauling me away. I managed to grab hold of another detained activist, and we
locked our limbs together and went limp. This not-so-cozy position didn't last for very long, as I was torn away from
him and began to be dragged mercilessly across sharp nettle thorns and jagged rocks.
At this point, a couple Palestinians and some of the Israeli anarchists jumped on top of me in a courageous effort to
de-arrest me, but to no avail. After about a minute, I had bad cuts all over my back, torn clothes, and a broken pair of
glasses. When the soldiers finally had me behind their jeep and away from the demonstration, one proceeded to hit me in
the head with the butt of his riffle while another punched me in the face. I get the impression these kids get a twisted
kick out of taking cheap shots at activists.
After standing in the custody of the soldiers for another minute, they were distracted from me and were worried about
another activist who was taking photos of them. Picture-taking is very threatening to Israeli soldiers, because it means
that the world might see what they're doing. Since there weren't any soldiers holding me, I just decided to walk away,
plain and simple. And it worked!
In the end, two ISM activists had been detained (one from Canada, and one from England), along with five Israelis from
Anarchists Against the Wall (one of whom is being charged with assaulting an officer). Two Palestinian men were injured,
and one had to be hospitalized after being pushed roughly to the ground by a soldier. Many were suffering from the
effects of the tear gas and sound bombs that were used.
Unfortunately, this kind of response from the army is typical for non- violent protests in Palestine. I left the
demonstration with a headache and stinging back from my beatings, but I have relatively nothing to complain about.
People everywhere in the world are talking about peace for Palestine, but as long as the occupation forces continue to
expand settlements and settler roads, our non- violent tactics are meaningless to them. The occupation is the ultimate
violence in Palestine.